AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No... You don’t know how much of a blessing you’ve been to me, Callum. Even as a stranger, you extended kindness, which is so rare nowadays. I feel in my heart that you are a good person... a good soul.”
“I just try to put out what I want to get back. Nothing more, nothing less. My sister and my friends think I have this savior complex or something, but it’s nothing like that. I just believe in showing the kind of love I wish someone had shown me when I needed it most.”
I could tell he harbored a lot of pain from his past. I couldn’t imagine losing both my parents as a teenager and then becoming a parent to my sibling. He was still a kid himself. Eighteen was barely an adult. He needed somebody to care for him. Somebody to stand up for him. Somebody to love him. His heart could have hardened after that experience. Instead, it had seemingly bloomed into the beautiful heart it is today.
We continued to talk as the car pulled up to my building. I climbed out and headed up to my floor.
“You’re home?” he asked as I jiggled the keys in the lock and pushed the door open.
“Yes. I just walked in.”
“I’m glad you made it safe. Do you work tomorrow?”
“No, I’m off all day. You?”
“I’m on uncle duty this week, so no work for me. I mean, I don’t do real work anyway. The business basically runs itself, and my team handles the rest.”
“Isn’t that the best way to work?”
“Most of the time. I do enjoy my time with my niece, though. She keeps me on my toes.”
“Do you want children?”
“One of these days. If the good Lord sees fit to send me a wife, I will give her as many as she allows me to. Would you... Would you ever want to try again?”
I swallowed hard as I lay back across my bed. “I don’t know. I’m afraid. I know what happened to my son wasn’t my fault, but that doesn’t stop me from wondering if there was anything I could have done differently. I love children and want to be a mother, but having another baby would feel like I’m replacing him. I never really got to say goodbye the way I wanted to.” I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting back tears. “I just don’t know. Maybe with the right person, I would consider it.”
“That’s fair.” He was quiet for a moment. “I should let you go. I’m sure you want to get out of your work clothes and relax a little.”
“Yeah.”
“Be good to yourself, Pasha. You aren’t where you were. Always remember that. Good night, beautiful.”
“Good night.”
I disconnected the phone and tossed it on my bed. He was right. I wasn’t where I had been. I wasn’t there, and I couldn’t allow my pain and fears to take me back there. I had to move on eventually, but how?
Chapter Sixteen
Callum
Bella, Martin, and I sat outside the church where my uncle’s funeral was being held.
It had been against my better judgment to come, but I thought about William and my other two cousins. When I lost my parents, they were there for Bella and me before shit went down. They spent many nights at my house through the whole planning process, offering us comfort. That was the only reason I told Bella that we would go.
“How long are we gonna sit here?” Bella asked from the passenger seat.
“I was waiting on William.”
“Are we walking in with the family? Are we sitting with them?”
“I don’t particularly want to sit with them, but I want him to know we are here.”
Just as I spoke, the family cars pulled up. After coming to a stop, the drivers got out to open the doors. I motioned for Bella and Martin to exit the car. William stepped out of the first car along with Mo, Jessa, and their mother. Dark shades covered their eyes, but I could still see the sadness in their body language. I knew what they were going through all too well.
Slowly, we made our way over to the family. Mo was the first to notice us. He tapped his brother and sister and pointed. William abandoned his stance beside his mother and came over, pulling Bella and me into a tight hug. Mo and Jessa followed him, and before I knew it, they were surrounding us.
William slapped my back. “Thank you for coming, man.”
